5 Best Presidents Day Car Discounts

Are you up for braving the crowds and hitting the car lots before tax rebates trickle in? Here's what to look for.

PORTLAND, Ore. ( TheStreet) -- This is a terrible time to buy a car, unless you're willing to subject yourself to the automotive Black Friday that is February.

It's not that Presidents Day is such an overwhelmingly great time to buy a car, but it's the best time during an especially bleak period. The folks at Lifehacker argue that the best time to get out there is in September and October, when the new models are just coming in and dealers are in a rush to get old models off the floors and lots.

If you missed that, the folks at AOL Cars were of the belief that the best time to buy was in December, when dealers needed to make end-of-year sales quotas and were willing to offer rebates and discounts as high as 30%. The numbers supported it, as auto sales increased 9% in December and helped automakers sell 14.5 million cars in 2012, up 13.4% from 2011.

It still holds true that any time the weather gets gray and wet and dealerships and lots empty out is the best time to make a deal. That's not going to be true for much longer, though, as income tax rebates are trickling in and dealers will be in no mood to trim prices.

If you're hell-bent on braving the crowds for Presidents Day sales -- especially to pick up an SUV before the winter subsides -- there are still a few relative bargains out there. We consulted with the folks at auto pricing site TrueCar and found five vehicles worth spending a few thousand Washingtons and Lincolns on: